


A Simple Love Story

by eggnognoya



Category: Haikyuu!!, haikyuu
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou are Bros, Everyone Is Gay, First Dates, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay, Haikyuu - Freeform, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma Friendship, Hinata and Kenma roommates, I used Yagami Yato nicknames, Kisses, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou Fluff, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou-centric, KuroKen - Freeform, M/M, One-Sided Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Plot, Rushed, YouTuber Kozume Kenma, a little angsty, akaashi bokuto and kuroo live together, hand holding, hinata and kageyama are lowkey fuckbuddies, sorrynotsorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26370202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eggnognoya/pseuds/eggnognoya
Summary: Kuroo let out a laugh. "Only if you agree to go out with me." Kenma looked up at Kuroo. "Come on, one chance? Please, pudding?"For the first time since Kenma has "known" Kuroo, he's never seen him look so serious. Kuroo always asked Kenma out in a joking manner so maybe that's why.Maybe that's why he said yes.______A KuroKen fanfic! College AU!
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 7
Kudos: 213





	1. The Answer

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first time writing a Haikyuu fanfic! I hope you enjoy it. It may be a little rushed because I wanted to keep the story to only 7 chapters!  
> Thanks for reading, please recommend to others if you like!

"Here's your coffee." Kuroo winked at the pudding-haired boy. The boy didn't react much. He just bowed his head, muttering a quiet "thanks" before taking the coffee and leaving.

It was the first time Kenma's heart skipped a beat.

Kenma Kozume was a 20-year-old college student who made money by reviewing games on YouTube. He had quite the following on the platform as well as on Twitter. He had become slightly famous in the gaming world of YouTube.

Being a college student and a gaming addict, Kenma always tended to get little sleep. This resulted in him becoming a regular to the college campus' coffee shop, Sarhutahiko Coffee.

Ever since he started going there, one of the workers did nothing but flirt with him. His name was apparently Tetsurou Kuroo. He never thought anything of it, but recently Kuroo's flirting was getting to him. Of course, Kenma never showed a reaction, but that didn't stop Kuroo's antics. In fact, it probably encouraged the boy even more.

It happened two days ago. When Kenma's heart skipped a beat. Kuroo had taken his order, made it, and handed it out to Kenma personally. He wondered why Kuroo did so much for him. The way Kuroo smiled and winked at him made him feel incredibly special.

He knew that he shouldn't feel special. He knew that Kuroo probably flirted with every "pretty" customer that walked in. It wasn't the fact the the two were both guys that made Kenma feel weird. It was the fact that Kenma was the center of those words.

"You look cute today, too, Kenma."

"When are you gonna let me take you out, huh?"

"Coffee's on the house, kitty."

All of those meaningless words of appreciation and like...Kenma knew they weren't real. So why did he feel so special? Why did he find himself suddenly looking forward to Kuroo. It didn't make sense.

\-------------

It was already Monday morning when Kenma thought about sleep. He had stayed up the entire night playing video games. "Oops," he said to himself before leaving his room.

Kenma's roommate, Shoyo Hinata was already up, training. He was using the couch to hold his feet as he did sit-ups. "Oh, Kenma! Did you sleep well?"

Kenma paused, "...Yeah."

Shoyo laughed, "No you didn't." He continued to work out as Kenma left to the bathroom. The two had been friends since middle school and although they went to different high schools, they never drifted away from each other. 

Kenma thought that Shoyo was the only person who understood him the most. Still, he didn't tell Shoyo about Kuroo at all.

Kenma was finished getting ready when Shoyo was just about to leave. "There's some fried rice left if you're hungry. I'm staying at Kageyama's tonight for some extra practice. Make sure to get some sleep okay? All-nighters are only good once in a while. Byeee. Love you!" Shoyo grinned before leaving.

Shoyo was a volleyball player. He was really good at it too. His friend, Kageyama Tobio was his practice buddy even though they were on separate teams right now. Shoyo spent a lot of time at Kageyama's.

Kenma ate a little portion of the fried rice before grabbing his things and leaving. He checked his phone and realized it'd been a while since he's posted on YouTube. 'I'd better make a video soon.' Kenma didn't realize it until he was there, but it seemed that he unconsciously walked to the coffee shop. He looked in and saw that Kuroo was already working.

Kenma wasn't planning on coming today but walked in anyway. Kuroo was already smiling as he took the order of the customer in front of Kenma, but his smile only grew when Kenma came up to the counter. The bright, blinding aura of happiness and excitement was hard to ignore.

"Kenma! It's been two days. Where have you been? You're not cheating on me with some other coffee shop, are you?" Kuroo feigned a look of betrayal before smirking. "The usual?"

Kenma's heart tightened at the fact that Kuroo could still remember Kenma's order. Although his order was fairly simple. A large iced caramel mocha with two pumps of hazelnut syrup and two extra shots of espresso. Extra whipped cream. "Yeah..the usual."

Kuroo happily put in the order. "I missed you, pudding cup." He winked, "I was all lonely here. You need to come twice a day now." Kuroo laughed, taking the money from Kenma, their hands slightly brushing together.

Kenma could only nod at Kuroo's words. He hoped his face wasn't turning red. Pudding cup was just one of the many pet names Kuroo called him.

'You're not special.' Kenma told himself before going to wait for his drink. Kuroo didn't make he drink this time. Why did that bother Kenma so much? It was just a drink.

Kenma took out his phone and played a few games of CandyCrush. He tried to ignore what felt like someone staring at him.

"Yo, Kitty."

Kenma looked up to see Kuroo holding his drink for him. Kenma bit back the urge to smile and walked up to the counter. "You really shouldn't call me kitty like that. It's embarrassing." He mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

Kuroo let out a laugh. "Only if you agree to go out with me." Kenma looked up at Kuroo. "Come on, one chance? Please, pudding?"

For the first time since Kenma has "known" Kuroo, he's never seen him look so serious. Kuroo always asked Kenma out in a joking manner so maybe that's why.

Maybe that's why he said yes.


	2. "It's Been A While"

Kenma and Kuroo exchanged numbers that day and have been texting ever since.

They decided to have their "date" on Saturday since that was when Kuroo was going to be off. Kenma couldn't believe he actually was convinced to go out with Kuroo. He could remember the look of absolute and utter happiness that practically exploded out of Kuroo.

"Really?! You mean it? Wait right here." The male had spoke to one of his co-workers before stumbling into the back of the shop. He quickly returned, a flustered look on his face as he walked out from behind the counter. He stopped himself right in front of Kenma. "Let's exchange numbers okay?"

Kuroo texted him that very night.

[Rooster Head] 8:33pm

> Goodnight chibi-chan. See you tomorrow. <

Kenma didn't respond to that first text. He didn't know how to.

Kenma found himself refusing to go to Karasuno Koffee for the remainder of the week. He thought his heart really wouldn't be able to handle it. He told Kuroo he was busy.

Still, Kenma found himself texting Kuroo every day after that night.

\------------

It was currently Thursday and Kenma didn't have any classes today. He decided it was the best time to make a video but found himself not really wanting to edit or anything today. He decided a YouTube Live was the best option.

He posted on his Twitter:

"Hey guys! Today I'll be going live on YT at 2pm. Come join me playing Rox Damage. Join the party. Code: PBXKozume See you guys there."

Rox Damage was a great sponsor. It was one of the first games that offered to pay him for a review. Kenma bashed them the first time around but instead of getting petty, the gaming company took the review seriously and even fixed the bugs that Kenma pointed out. It was some shooting game that Kenma now enjoyed playing. Everytime he played the game on his channel or posted about it, he'd get paid. Regardless if the review was bad or good.

The time came and Kenma started his screen-recorder. He was able to set up the basic gaming style recording, his face in the small bottom left corner. It had taken him a year to figure out how to go live like that when he first started. Now the set up was quite easy.

"Hey everybody! It's been a while. Whoa, we just started and we already have so many people here. Look at all these people who want to join the party. Unfortunately we can't have everyone play with me at once. I'll pick a few people each round, okay? So please be patient and don't get sad when I kick you out! I want to let everyone have fun!" Kenma smiled slightly.

When Kenma first started out, he had a problem of speaking and smiling. He's used to playing silently and would often get hate for not speaking. He didn't smile much still, but he can speak more freely now. Although he still had trouble speaking when it came to in-person interactions.

"The people who aren't playing or planning to play, you guys feel free to ask me some questions or games you want to see me review. I'd love to hear what you guys like!" Kenma smiled at the camera before opening the game's lobby and letting in about 6 people into the round. With Rox, you could do stuff like this. Control the group as the "captain." It was pretty cool but it was only available on the CP version of the game.

Kenma started the round and the group followed Kenma excitedly. He glanced at the comments and smiled at all the comments.

From Gamergirl657: "you are so cool kenma-chan"

From BuddyBitch: "go too lookout tower lol"

From CODKiller: "yooo i was chosen :3 im killblazer!!!!"

From Tyler: "what's your favorite color??"

From Caire Love: "Are You Dating Anyone?"

"Hi KillBlazer. Glad you're in the game. My favorite color is red and no, i'm not dating anyone at the moment." Kenma smiled, ignoring the way his heart "badumped" at the dating question, Kuroo popping into his head. "BuddyBitch said to go to lookout tower. Sure. Follow me everyone."

Kenma was about five minutes into the match when he looked at the comments again. The group was in a secluded area so he didn't have to worry about getting attacked yet. He was scrolling back up the comments when he froze.

From KTcoffeeboy: "Aw, Kitty. I thought you were definitely dating someone."

Kenma's face was probably red. He scrolled down and saw more comments from him.

From KTcoffeboy: "you look so cute when you smile, pudding."

"wow, so good at shooting the bad guys."

"nOtIcE mE, SeNpAi" was the most recent comment.

Kenma found himself smiling at that. "KT...you're such a dork," was all he could say. 

Kenma had no idea that Kuroo knew about his YouTube channel. Had he just found out? Had he always known?

Kenma found himself silently wondering this as he continued to play.

\---------

"Okay guys! What a great game! You were all great and I wish I could play more, but I have to go. See you guys next time! Hope you had fun today!" Kenma smiled and waved goodbye to the camera before logging out of the live.

Kenma let out an exhausted sigh. Smiling like that took too much energy out of him. He almost forgot about the whole KT thing when Kuroo texted him.

[Rooster Head] 5:15pm

> You were vewwy cute today, chibi-chan. <

Kenma glared at his phone.

< please don't call me kitty or anything on my channel... >

[Rooster Head]

> awww, but your reaction when i did was sooo cute <

Kenma sighed. Kuroo was definitely getting too cocky. Kenma rolled his eyes, not noticing the small smile that appeared on his lips. The two continued talking until ten.

Kenma didn't even realize until he heard Shoyo enter the apartment. "Ahhhhhh, Kenma! You home?"

Kenma texted a quick goodbye to Kuroo before leaving his phone and his room. He didn't even wait for Kuroo's response. "Oh, Shoyo. Off of work? No practice today?"

"Nope! Kageyama is being a butt so I'm not going to be practicing with him for a while. I'll probably get Koganegawa to set for me when he comes back from Okinawa Saturday." He pouted pettily. "'Meanwhile, you should toss some sets for me!" Shoyo jumped.

Oh yeah, Kenma used to play volleyball too. Only because Shoyo needed members in middle school. He played in high school for a year after Shoyo forced him to but he never particularly liked the sport. He was told often that he was good at it, though. "I don't really want to."

"Come on! Some of the old volleyball guys are having a reunion party next week. You're coming right? Right?!" Shoyo jumped up and down, smiling brightly.

Kenma stared at his friend. He really couldn't say no when Shoyo looked so eager. "I'll go...but I'm not playing any volleyball."

"Yahoo!" Shoyo jumped once more, the highest jump of the night, before giving Kenma a quick hug. He was definitely planning to get Kenma to play. "Okay, next Saturday, okay?" He made an okay sign with his fingers before rushing to the bathroom. 

Kenma sighed, "This is troublesome."


	3. The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kinda long. Compared to the first two, at least. I had to actually cut it short so, again, might seem a bit rushed.

It was finally Saturday. Kenma didn't know how he felt.

Did he feel nervous? Excited? Was it good or bad to feel nervous? Was it okay to be expecting something?

Kenma shook his head. He shouldn't expect much. He should think of this like hanging out with Shoyo. 'It's not really a date.'

Kenma decided it'd be good to change his appearance today. Instead of his signature red sweater, a plain white long-sleeve shirt and black jeans that were a little baggy on him. He tucked in the shirt, pulling it out just a little bit. He added a black belt and black combat boots. He looked at himself in the mirror and thought he looked like he was trying too hard. Although, he liked to dress like this regardless of the occasion.

Kenma use a black mini backpack to hold his things. He looked at himself one more time and decided he looked good enough.

'Good enough? For what?'

\------

Kuroo had barely slept the night before. He was too excited. Honestly, he was surprised that this wasn't some crazy dream. He never thought that Kenma would've agreed to go on a date with him. Or that they would be texting as much as they did. He was glad though, considering Kenma never really talks in person.

Kuroo wore a black t-shirt that said "The King" paired with a black leather jacket. He wore black, ripped skinny jeans. A dark blue cardigan wrapped around his waist for some color and black vans.

Kuroo smirked at himself in the mirror, "Looking good." He finger-gunned himself.

He put on a silver dog tag necklace and some rings before grabbing his things and putting them in his pockets. He ran a hand through his hair and winked at himself in the mirror, trying to be confident as he left his room.

"Bokuto, Akaashi. I'm leaving." Kuroo called out to his two roommates that were sat, cuddled into the couch.

"Oooh~ finally going on your date~" Bokuto sang suggestively. "You better introduce us to "neko-chan" soon." Bokuto grinned. "I gotta see the guy that's got you wrapped around his little fingers."

"Shut up." Kuroo blushed. "Akaashi, get your boyfriend."

"Actually, I agree. I wanna meet Mr. "Pudding Cup"." Akaashi raised an eyebrow at Kuroo. He still remembered the embarrassed look on Kuroo's face when he found out that Kenma was named "Pudding Cup" on his contacts.

Kuroo blushed harder. "You guys are literally so annoying." he groaned. "I'm leaving." He didn't let them say another word as he left the apartment.

He pulled out his phone and texted Kenma.

> Can't wait to see you, kitty. :) <

The reply was almost instant.

[Pudding Cup <3]

< okay >

Kuroo found himself grinning like a fool for such a dull response. "Geez, Bokuto is right...I'm whipped." He sighed before rushing to the train station.

\----------------

Kenma arrived first. Exactly at 1 o'clock, like they had planned. He thought he felt a little too anxious as he felt his clammy hands. He really shouldn't let some random coffee shop guy make him feel like this.

It was too scary of a feeling.

"Kenma!"

Kenma's head whipped towards the sound. Kuroo waved at him with that smirk-like grin on his face. Kenma looked the taller up and down. He thought Kuroo looked good in casual clothes rather than his usual work attire.

'Stop.' Kenma shook the thoughts out of his head as he returned the wave with a smaller one himself.

"Hi, Kuroo." He mumbled.

"Hey!" Kuroo looked at Kenma. "You look really good today. Very cute." Kuroo smirked, easily hiding the nervousness that sat in the pit of his stomach.

Kenma's cheeks surely turned a light pink. "Um, thanks...I guess." Kenma looked around. "So, what's the plan?"

"Oh! Yeah, um, I got us tickets to see any movie. You can choose the movie, okay?" Kuroo rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't want to choose a movie and have Kenma dislike it. Thankful for Akaashi's advice, he bought tickets that allowed them to choose any movie with open seats for any time. 

Kenma was kind of shocked. He had thought of Kuroo to be the assertive type who had everything perfectly planned to a T. "Um..oh. Can we watch 'The Benefactor'?"

'The Benefactor' was honestly about a manga villain that basically controlled crime by using money to have others do his bidding. He would use the greedy, needy poor in the Slums of New York that were willing to risk their lives because they were drowning in debt.

The movie had incredible ratings and Kenma had really wanted to watch it.

"'The Benefactor'? Isn't that the movie about that villain in that one manga? What's it called? Uhhh, oh," Kuroo snapped his fingers in realization, "'Money Call'!"

Kenma was pleasantly surprised that Kuroo knew the manga. "You read manga?"

"Not a lot but yeah. My friend really likes manga so I steal his books sometimes." He shrugged. "Okay, let's go and see if there's a showing soon."

The theater was close by, thankfully. Kuroo spoke most of the way there about work and weird or funny customer moments. Kenma found himself smiling at the rambling Kuroo.

"....and then he fainted." Kuroo laughed, looking down to see Kenma giggling. His heart swelled thinking that he actually got Kenma to laugh just a little.

"You have a lot of stories, huh?" Kenma smiled. "Must always be fun to go to work."

"Of course. I love working at Karasuno. It's even more fun when I get to see you, though." Kuroo thought the last part aloud. His eyes widened and he covered his mouth, blushing.

The two had stopped walking. Kenma stared at Kuroo for a minute before bursting into a giggle fit. "You're really such a dork." He wiped the laughing tears from his eyes. "You can flirt and call my so many names but this is what makes you nervous?" He continued to laugh and giggle.

Kuroo would've been even more embarrassed but it was like he was struck by lightning. Kenma's smile and the sound of his laughter had Kuroo stuck in his spot. Kuroo was falling deeper into this feeling than before. He wanted to make Kenma laugh like that more. To smile like that more.

"Sh-shut up." Kuroo mumbled. "I wasn't trying to flirt...that's why." He pouted. "Come on, let's just go." He grabbed Kenma's hand and started dragging him along.

Kenma's laughter stopped at the sudden hand holding. "Ah- Kuroo...your hand.."

Kuroo turned back to see a blushing Kenma, avoiding eye contact. Kuroo smiled at that. "It's fine." He squeezed Kenma's hand a bit, slowing down so they could walk side by side.

\-----------

The two got to the theater just before the showing of the movie. They were lucky enough to score some seats in the back and went to the movie room quickly.

The two sat down just as the commercials started to end. "Right on time" Kuroo smiled. He could see the tiny excited aura that floated around Kenma.

As the movie started, Kuroo grabbed Kenma's hand. Kenma looked at Kuroo with wide eyes, blushing for the fiftieth time today. The way Kuroo gently smiled at Kenma made him not want to pull away his hand. He continued to let Kuroo hold his hand, turning his attention back to the movie.

\----------

"That was amazing." Kenma and Kuroo walked out of the theatre, still holding hands. Kenma completely forgot about it during and after the movie. "The flashback scenes really made me want to cry." He let out a sigh in awe.

Kuroo grinned at Kenma. "Yeah, honestly the movie was better than I thought it would be. I'm glad we got to see it together, Kenma."

Kenma looked at Kuroo with a smile. "Yeah..."

The two walked together in a comfortable silence for a bit before Kenma spoke again, "I'm hungry."

Kuroo blinked at Kenma. "Oh! Right, let's go get something to eat. Do you have anything you hate?"

"I don't like seafood that much but otherwise anything is fine."

Kuroo nodded, a serious look on his face. Kenma thought the crease in his eyebrows was kinda cute. "Ah, come on. I know a place you'll like."

Kuroo led the way. Their hands were kinda sweaty but the two made no move to let go as they walked through the busy streets in downtown Japan.

They soon made it to a small restaurant. "The food here is the best in Japan." Kuroo grinned.

As they walked in they were immediately greeted by some blonde guy wearing a headband. "Oh! Look who's here. It's Kuroo."

"Hey old man." Kuroo grinned cheekily, hugging the man with one hand, the other still gripping onto Kenma's.

"Ah, geez, I ain't old yet." He flicked Kuroo before noticing Kenma. "Ah- who's this?"

"This is Kenma. My...." He looked at Kenma before saying, "my date." He smiled proudly.

Kenma felt himself heat up. "Um...Hi." He looked away. 'Geez, this stupid rooster head.'

"Oh?" The guy raised a brow. "Is he forcing you?" The guy whispered but in a loud enough way for Kuroo to hear.

"Gah- Old man!"

Kenma watched as Mr. "Old Man" laughed wildly. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just joking." He looked at Kenma. "You can call me Ukai."

Ukai....why did that sound so familiar? Kenma decided to ignore that and nodded at Ukai. "Okay, thank you." He bowed a bit.

The two were seated at the counter. Kuroo ordered for the both of them, claiming that it was he best ramen ever.

When the food arrived, Kenma slowly let go of Kuroo's hand. He found himself missing the sweaty warmth of Kuroo's hand on his. Geez, what's going on with him....?

Kuroo watched as Kenma took a bite. He grinned when he saw the way Kenma's eyes sparkled. "Ish gud." He said with his mouth full.

Kuroo grinned and dug in as well. Kuroo quickly found himself talking about himself again. "So, I'm a business major. I want to get into sports management and promotion. I love sports but I can't see myself playing it forever. I just like the idea of people coming together to watch and play a game. The connection and the love and the passion. All of it bonded together in a way that can make a player and a watcher both cry because of the results. It's an amazing thing and I want to be able to contribute to it. You know?" He turned to look at Kenma staring at him. "Oh, I'm rambling, huh? Sorry." He laughed nervously.

"No, don't be sorry. I like hearing you talk about the things you love." Kenma rested his chin onto his hand. "I've never been that passionate about sports. You kind of remind me of my friend. He's like you. He's very passionate about his playing. Always practicing an improving." He nodded. 'I believe that you two will go very far. Me...I don't know yet. I'm in art and video gaming design/development. I've always been good at video games and art. I also know how to program, but I don't really know what I want to do. I'd rather play the games than make them. If I make them, it won't be a challenge to beat them. I might just continue life like how I am now. I mean, being a YouTuber isn't bad. I get paid enough to pay my bills, my tuition, and more. I just...I feel like I'm gonna end up nowhere if I do..." Kenma trailed off, looking up at Kuroo.

Kuroo and Kenma stared at each other in a silence that wasn't comfortable or uncomfortable. Honestly, Kenma found that he wasn't able to truly describe the tension that surrounded the two. It was a tension that pulled at the both of their heartstrings though. Like someone tied a string to the both of their hearts, slowly pulling them closer together. And the distance was closing so quickly that Kenma didn't know how to react.

Kenma was scared. So scared that the distance would close and he wouldn't be able to run away. That he wouldn't want to. Because what if Kuroo wanted to? He didn't know what to do with this aching inside his heart. It hurt so goddamn much but Kenma didn't want it to stop.

"Um...we should get going.." Kenma whispered, not breaking away from Kuroo's gaze.

"Yeah..." Kuroo's voice was low and deep. A sound that resonated deep within Kenma's body.

None of them made a move. It was like they were glued to this position. The string tugged and tugged and tugged but neither pulled away or pushed closer. Both were unsure of the next move to make. Kenma didn't know if he wanted to pull away just yet. He anticipated Kuroo's next move.

He'd let Kuroo decide what happened next. That's what he decided.

"Kuroo..." Kenma said his name, searching Kuroo's eyes for anything that could give him a hint as to what was going to happen next.

Kuroo didn't respond right away. He just looked at Kenma with an unreadable expression. He felt his hands start to clam up. His brain was yelling at him to do something. 'Kiss him. Pat his head. Hug him. Do something. Anything. Come on! Move, Testu!'

Kuroo leaned forward just the tiniest bit, testing the waters. When he saw Kenma flinch back a little, he thought he made he wrong move until Kenma returned to his position, fluttering his eyes shut.

Kuroo didn't chicken out as he moved to place a kiss on Kenma's cheek. The kiss lasting a bit longer than it should have, maybe. He didn't want to kiss Kenma on the lips just yet. He wanted to hear Kenma say he liked him first. He wanted to truly confess to Kenma first.

"Let's go." Kuroo stood up and held his hand out for Kenma.

Kenma blinked slowly, looking at Kuroo. He was a bit confused but he didn't say anything. He just grabbed Kuroo's hand and let himself follow Kuroo to wherever they were going next.


	4. A Surprise Meeting

After what had happened, the two didn't do anything besides walk around while holding hands. No one spoke. Kuroo probably should've kissed Kenma right there or at least say "I like you."

The two parted ways around 5pm. Kuroo had pulled him away from the crowds to kiss him on the cheek once more before letting Kenma get on his train.

After that, Kenma and Kuroo didn't see or text each other for a whole week. Kuroo couldn't bring himself the courage to. He didn't know how he acted before the date. He couldn't remember how to flirt shamelessly with Kenma anymore. Kuroo sighed.

"Akaashiiiiiii." Bokuto whined, "This is like the hundredth time that Kuroo has sighed. I really think his heart was broken. Fix him!" Bokuto pouted. "He's so annoying."

Kuroo glared at Bokuto, throwing a couch pillow at him. "Shut up, you stupid owl!" He groaned, "I'm not heartbroken. I'm....just confused."

Akaashi stared at Kuroo without saying anything for a while. "Hey, we're going to a volleyball reunion tomorrow. Come with us. Maybe you'll be able to forget about whatever happened with Mr. Pudding Cup for a little. That tangerine and king will be there. Yamaguchi is forcing Tsukkishima to come too. I heard Yaku and Lev are even planning to make an appearance."

Kuroo looked at the two. Bokuto was grinning and Akaashi held a small smile. He smiled softly at the. "Yeah, sounds fun. We're gonna play, right? I'm totally beating that shrimpy again." He smirked.

Bokuto laughed, "No way. I'm on his team. There's definitely no way you're gonna win against me!"

Akaashi flicked Bokuto on the forehead. "Idiot. We're doing a random team drawing, remember?"

"Oh..." Bokuto grinned and laughed. "I forgot."

Kuroo laughed at the two. "Cool. I can't wait to see how much everyone's progressed."

\----------

Saturday arrived quickly and Kuroo found himself actually really excited. He dressed in some shorts and a tee. He was glad that he still had his volleyball shoes and they still fit.

The three quickly left the apartment together at 9:00am.

When they arrived the old Karasuno team had already started making a ruckus. "Stupid Hinata! How do you still suck a receives?!"

"I don't suck! You just have stupidly high standards! Dumb King!" Hinata stuck his tongue out.

"Look at the King already complaining."

"Tsukki!"

"Are you suckas ready to lose or what?!"

"Tanaka! Stop it. Sorry!"

"Ha! Tanaka got yelled at!"

"Noya, y-you're too loud!"

"Oh my god, why am I even here?" Suga and Ennoshita both facepalmed as the rest of the team continued to bring chaos into the gym.

They finally calmed down once Daichi got really angry. "You guys..." was all he had to say befor everyone froze. He smiled menacingly before turning to the others. "I'm sorry that they're still lacking in maturity." Daichi laughed.

Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, and Noya all took offence to that. Tsukkishima only scoffed. 

The rest of the players all laughed at the five. 

Everyone re-acquainted with each other, talking and laughing like no time had passed at all. The group consisted of Nekoma, Karasuno, Fukurodani, and Aoba Johsai.

As everyone settled down to listen to Daichi and Suga, the two who set up this reunion, explain the rules, Hinata jumped up. "Oh yeah! I have a friend who's coming to join. He's gonna be here in a minute. He had to do something before coming here." Hinata smiled, "Treat him well, okay?!"

Everyone mumbled a "yes" or a "sure." Something told Kuroo to prepare himself but he didn't understand why.

At least he didn't understand until Hinata rushed outside the gym and dragged in his friend. He choked on his own spit as he rushed to stand up, immediately recognizing that pudding head anywhere. "Kenma?"

Akaashi and Bokuto looked at each other....immediately knowing. "Pudding Cup." They whispered to each other. The only time Bokuto seemed to catch on quickly.

Kenma looked up, eyes wide. "Kuroo...hey.."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to write them playing a game together but apparently I lack the skills to actually write about volleyball. Hehe. Maybe one day, I'll be able to make them play together in a game!


	5. The Truth

Kuroo groaned, leaning his head back in exhaustion. The group had played until dark. Kuroo honestly forgot the thrill of playing with these guys. It was a good feeling.

When Kenma showed up, everyone sensed the odd tension around them. Thankfully, Hinata was the first to snap everyone out of it by telling everyone to hurry so he could beat Kageyama. This resulted in Kageyama and Hinata bickering as always. It made the entire ease down.

For the rest of the day, Kuroo and Kenma kept a comfortable distance. This was kind of hard to do though because Kuroo had ended up playing on a team with Kenma. They worked surprisingly well together and were able to win a ton of the matches.

Kuroo had fought back the urge to hug Kenma everytime they would pull off some quick attack or if they won. He quickly realized how much he wanted to celebrate good news with Kenma.

Mostly everyone had gone home already. The only people left were Hinata, Kageyama, Daichi, Suga, Akaashi, Bokuto, Kenma, and himself. Daichi and Suga had to lock the place up, Hinata and Kageyama were chatting with Bokuto as Akaashi helped Daichi and Suga clean up. Kenma was sitting down, playing his DS.

Kuroo caught himself staring at Kenma. He smiled softly at the male. God, he missed him. He missed Kenma's hand in his. He missed watching Kenma react to every flirting attempt.

Kuroo really liked Kenma, huh?

Kuroo stood up and walked over to Kenma. He stopped right in front of him, his shadow hovering over Kenma's smaller figure. "Can we talk?"

\-------

Kenma kind of knew this was coming. He guessed that there was no way Kuroo wouldn't try to approach him today. Still, his heart skipped a beat as he looked up at Kuroo. Kenma didn't say anything and only nodded.

Kuroo turned and started walking away. Kenma stood up and started following him.

Kenma soon found himself outside with Kuroo. It was quite dark outside save for the lights that lit up the outside of the gym just a little.

Kuroo didn't speak for a while, but Kenma only waited patiently for what was about to come. He wondered if Kuroo was going to say that he wasn't interested in him in a romantic way and that he only wanted to be friends.

Kenma ignored the twinge of pain that shot through his chest. He fiddled with his thumbs, eyes glued to the floor.

"I like you." Kuroo finally blurted.

Kenma's head snapped up. He stared at Kuroo.

"And not in a friend way or something. I mean...I mean like I want to be with you all the time and I want to hold your hand again and I wanna make you happy kind of like. At first, it was just me joking around, yeah. I just thought that I wanted to see what you looked like smiling. But as the weeks passed, you were who I wanted to see everytime the door opened at work. And when I asked you out, I never thought you'd say yes. When I see you, I get so nervous but I love it. I love the way you make me feel. Kenma, I like you."

Kenma froze. He didn't know what to say. His heart thudded against his chest and he felt like it was getting hard to breathe. He felt his chest tighten as he tried to think of something...anything to say. Kenma opened his mouth to speak when--

"Kenma~! Come on! We're gonna miss our train." Shoyo whined. "Kageyama's dumbass already left with Daichi and Suga."

Kenma looked at Shoyo and the at Kuroo. There was a desperate look on his face as he struggled to find his words.

Kuroo only smiled. "It's okay. We can talk later...I'll see you." Kuroo forced himself to smile at the two. "It was fun. Let's play on the same team next time, okay shrimpy? Maybe then you'll win."

Hinata gasped dramatically. "Hey! That's mean. It's only cause you guys had Bokuto on your team too. I could totally beat you on your own!" He stuck out his tongue before grabbing Kenma's wrist, dragging him along. "I'll beat you next time, rooster head!" Hinata declared, leaving Kuroo to wallow in despair.

Kuroo felt like crying. The look of fear that flashed across Kenma's face made his heart ache in the worst way possible. He knew that there was a good chance at getting rejected but he never thought he wouldn't get an answer.

Was it bad to feel a little hopeful?


	6. A Setter's Intuition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHH the bromance that is KenHina! I love their friendship and you see it in here.*chef's kiss*

Kenma and Shoyo made it to the train station just in time. The two sat down together and neither of them spoke. Kenma started wondering why Shoyo wasn't going off about the previous matches.

"I'm sorry I interrupted you guys earlier. Honestly, I heard his confession." Shoyo was looking at his hands, his thumbs twiddling around each other. "I thought you were panicking so I stepped in."

Kenma looked at Shoyo silently until Shoyo looked back at him. "Honestly, I was. I felt like I was underwater." Kenma scoffed at himself. "You saved me. Thanks."

Shoyo creased his eyebrows. "Do you like him?"

Kenma stared out of the windows. He watched as nothing but a blur passed as the train moved. Did he like Kuroo? "...I don't know yet. Maybe? When I'm with him, I feel special. But is that liking someone?"

"Well, do you feel your heart racing? Do you think about him everyday? Do you always want to see him or be around him? Does he make you feel like it's only you two against the world?"

Kenma was startled at the sudden questions. "Shoyo, are you in love with someone?"

Shoyo flinched at those words. He relaxed a bit and nodded, looking away. "Yeah, but sadly, I've already been rejected." He let out a sad laugh.

Kenma leaned into his seat. "Yeah....Kuroo makes me feel all those things. He invades my mind and it's like no matter how hard I try, he never leaves. But I'm scared. So fucking scared that I'm gonna snap out of this dream one day and find out that I was reviewing some dating game for my channel. I'm afraid that Kuroo will think I'm just some loser who can't get a real job. That I'll be left behind if let myself admit whatever it is I'm feeling." Kenma rubbed his face, pushing the hair out of his way.

Shoyo smiled at him. "Kenma...that's just a risk you gotta take. It's like volleyball. Like when you're just about to set the ball and you have all these options right in front of you. And it's the last few points of the match and it's up to this point to determine who will end up having control. If I were the setter, I'd be scared as hell. I'd want to run away and I'd probably go to the left, the safest option, right? But you wouldn't do that, would you? You'd probably take a risk. You'd do a setter dump right in front of their faces." Shoyo grinned. "Whether you score the point or not, you took that risk. You did what you thought was best. You followed your setter's intuition. And that's exactly what you need to do. Take that risk. Decide. Are you going to dump the ball or are you going to be predictable and run away?"

Kenma has never thought of Shoyo to be smart but in this exact moment, he thought Shoyo was the smarter one out of the two. "I don't want to run away." Kenma said in an almost whispered voice. "I...I like Kuroo."

Shoyo jumped up. "Yahoo! My bestfriend is in love~!" He laughed, yelling to the empty train. 

"Sh-shoyo! Sit down!" Kenma smiled at his jumping friend. 

\------

The two were sitting down again. Shoyo was finally talking about the matches. "I can't believe Kuroo and the other's were still so good! Ughhhh they don't even practice or play competitively anymore!" He whined.

Kenma only nodded before asking the question that wouldn't leave his mind. "Shoyo...not to ruin your mood but, who're you in love with? And...why did they reject you?"

Shoyo smiled sadly, "Come on, use your brains. Who do you think it is?"

"...Kageyama..?"

"Oh- bingo!" Shoyo chuckled before sighing. "Kageyama and I hold a purely physical relationship. On and off the court." Shoyo gulped. "I confessed to him once after a practice and all he said was 'I have work tomorrow. See you, boke.'" Shoyo put his hands on his head to make his hair look like Kageyama's when he said that. "I was ignored." Shoyo shrugged. "But it's okay!" He stood up. "Because I'll learn to jump high enough that no one, not even the King, can ignore me. And then he'll have to answer me. For now, I'll just focus on making him fall madly in love with me." Shoyo grinned and laughed. "Oh- the train stopped. Let's go home!"

Kenma smiled at his bestfriend. He admired Shoyo's determination. "Yeah, let's go home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this one. I really liked what Hinata said. Like it probably doesn't actually make sense, but it makes my heart swell...  
> Also the Kagehina angst in here that makes me want to do a spin-off but idk yet. Thoughts?
> 
> Next Chapter is the LAST!


	7. The Final Word

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly didn't know what to name this chapter, lol.  
> But yay! It's here, the last chapter! Hope you're satisfied with it!  
> I wanted this to be a cute and slightly angsty fic that had no unnecessary drama! Again, I know it's a bit rushed but I honestly wrote this whole fic in two days, so yeah.

Kenma had woken up that Sunday with a new resolve. He'd confess to Kuroo.

He didn't want to wait and lose his chance. He didn't want Kuroo to think that Kenma had or will reject him.

Kenma put his hair into a low bun. He had promised himself that he'd start showing his face better if he ever felt really confident. Today, he had to feel confident.

Kenma just threw on a hoodie over a plain tee and black jeans with white vans. He gave himself a quick once over before grabbing his mini-backpack and rushing out of the house. He had to go now. He had to go before his brain could catch up to him and convince him that this was a bad idea.

Kenma lived close enough to the cafe and the campus that he just started running. A few strands of his hair fell out of the bun but he didn't dare stop. "Please be working today. Please don't change your mind yet." Kenma mumbled to himself as he ran passed other university students who were probably going to club or something.

Kenma slowed his pace as he neared the shop. He slowed into a walking pace, trying to calm his breathing. "Okay...you got this. You can do it." He attempted to hype himself up.

He crept up to the window and looked through to see if Kuroo was there. He immediately found him. Kuroo looked pretty normal and caught Kenma off guard when he looked up and accidentally locked eyes.

Kuroo's face lit up a bit and Kenma could see Kuroo talk to his co-workers, arms waving around frantically. He took off his apron and quickly rushed towards the entrance door. He opened the door and stopped a a few feet apart from Kenma. Like he was scared of getting too close. Like Kenma would disappear if he made any sudden movements. "Kenma...you...why're you here?"

"To give you an answer, of course." Kenma smiled, moving a stray strand of hair out of his face and behind his ear.

Kuroo stepped a bit closer. "Well?" Kuroo felt his heart racing in anticipation. Hope filled his entire being as he looked at Kenma. Even with his hair messy and falling out of that bun, Kuroo thought Kenma looked absolutely stunning as the bright morning sun shined on his face. "What's your answer?"

Kenma stepped closer, closing the distance even more. Maybe it was the adrenaline but Kenma didn't speak. He just grabbed Kuroo by his color and pulled him down into a kiss. Kenma was on his tiptoes but Kuroo was still hunched over just a bit. The kiss was quick and chaste. He pulled away, their foreheads pressed against each other. "I like you, too, Testurou."

Kuroo pulled back, a hand over his mouth as he stared at Kenma with wide eyes. "What-what the hell was that?! I wanted kiss you first!" He yelled, his face a bright red. "No fair! Since when did you get all smooth?" Kuroo whined.

Kenma laughed loudly. "Does it really matter? Geez, you dork. If you wanna kiss me, then...then just do it already." Kenma's voice lowered as he said that last part. He didn't expect himself to say that and it was too late to stop by the time he noticed.

Kuroo raised a brow at Kenma before smirking. "Okay." Was all he said before pulling Kenma into his chest and kissing him deeply. It lasted longer than the first and Kenma found himself melting into Kuroo's arms. He was about to wrap his own arms around Kuroo when-

"Can you guys not do this right in front of the store? You're scaring the customers! Also, it's disgusting." Iwaizumi, a co-worker and one of the volleyball players Kenma officially met yesterday, said. "Literally, get a room." He threw a towel at Kuroo before going back inside.

Kenma blushed at that while Kuroo laughed. "Right...we're outside...in broad daylight." He grinned at Kenma. "Guess we should go, huh?"

"Where we going?"

"Anywhere you want to, pudding cup."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this to be a cute and slightly angsty fic that had no unnecessary drama! I hope you enjoyed it. I know it's a bit rushed but I honestly wrote this in two days, so yeah. I might do like- sequel or a kagehina spin off but who knows?!
> 
> Anyway, bye for now!

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of short, but it's just to get the ball rolling. Also I called Hinata "Shoyo" because even though this is in third person, it's still in Kenma's perspective. You know?


End file.
